Pluto
by peachy007
Summary: Sometimes they all feel like they're falling into a black hole of despair; and then Riley's there to pull them back through.


Disclaimer: Don't own the show or any rights. Huge fan of the show, thought I'd try my hand at an idea that's been playing around in my head. Hopefully it's articulated as well as I envisioned is. :)

Riley Matthews was their sun (but if you ask her, she'd tell you she was their Pluto; half because of her humbleness, the other half due to her partialness to the former planet). Riley was their sun, and Maya, Lucas, and Farkle were purely existing in her orbit. It was no wonder Lucas and Farkle were so smitten with her; Maya too, in her own way. She had a charm about her that made people gravitate to her. Riley Matthews was the anchor of their foursome; without Riley, they would be reckless, chaotic, and desperate. She was their energy and her spirit carried them all. She was their ray of sunshine (of hope) in an otherwise despondent world.

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Lucas Friar, Moral Compass, Mr. Perfect, Lucas the Good, aches to be those things (for her). But he had never intended to. No, Lucas Friar, of Austin Texas, had been perfectly content with his bad boy ways, his schemes, and his troublemaking friends. And when he was forced to move to New York with his mother after the incident (daddy never did want him around), he had every intention of carrying on with his insubordination (that would show them).

Lucas could remember the exact time he had given up on himself (he was seven). That may sound too young (the realization that life is only filled with hopelessness is usually reserved for people in their thirties), but when you grow up as the son of a strict, heartless colonel (and a mother whose only ambition is to just make him love her again) despair isn't much of an option (as much as a responsibility). Nothing Lucas did was ever going to be good enough for his father (all he wanted was to hear I'm proud of you just once); he finally realized he was never going to be able to elicit pride from Colonel Friar (dad), but he sure as hell was able to procure whatever the opposite of that was (oh yeah, disappointment). The first time Lucas brought home a report card with a grade lower than a B (C-, to be exact), his father had nearly lost his mind and spent a good hour after dinner telling Lucas what a disgrace he was to the family. That night, Lucas had relished in the fact that he had elicited some sort of reaction out of his father (any reaction was welcomed over the blank stares he would receive when recounting his day's events or the grunts of indifference when describing his latest home run). It was shortly after that he had decided to dedicate himself to evoking as much emotion from his father as he possibly could (some would call it pushing buttons). By age eleven, Lucas was a C average student and he was getting into fights at school weekly. There were countless meetings with Lucas' teachers (I didn't raise him to act like this), innumerous punishments (usually involving a belt), and constant fighting between his parents (he's the reason they're not together anymore). But eventually, those all stopped, too. There were no more meetings at school and the punishments at home ceased. Colonel Friar had just stopped caring altogether; and to Lucas, that was worse than one hundred lashes with the old man's belt. Soon, the fighting between his parents stopped as well. Dinners were eaten in silence amongst the three of them (when everyone decided to show up). And Lucas would have given anything just to hear his father say "I'm disappointed in you".

The moment Lucas Friar met Riley Matthews on the subway he knew she was special. He had never met somebody so beautiful and so happy. She was far from a tortured, bleeding soul he imagined he would find and be able to relate to so well in this city. She was the opposite; someone who could make him forget everything he worked so hard to screw up. And despite his preset resentment for anyone who was going to try to break down his walls once he moved to New York, he couldn't help but slowly fall for her. Princess Riley was able to change him. He wants to be the reason she believes in fairy tales and happy endings; he wants to be her prince.

Riley Matthews makes him want to be better. Riley Matthews makes him forget who he used to be.

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Farkle Minkus has dreams of ruling the world one day; dreams of sitting on a golden throne, feasting on cowboy caviar and smoked salmon (not because he likes either, but because they sound fancy. And, well frankly, if he was going to rule the world, he was going to do it right); his sun ruling beside him on one side, his moon on the other (because, even in his dreams, he could not choose between them). His best friend is there with him, of course, usually as a jester or simpleton (because, dammit, this is finally his kingdom and there was no way he was subservient to Lucas still). In Farkle Minkus' kingdom, everyone is always dancing, there's an abundance of food (and turtlenecks), and the sun is always shining. Except, when it starts to fade away. It starts with just a couple of flickers, enough to send chills throughout his body. But no one else seems to notice (or maybe it's that they don't care). But then the flickers stop, and the kingdom is submerged in darkness. Farkle Minkus screams for help, but realizes there's no one there; he's alone again. He calls out for his friends, whispers really, almost afraid, because he knows what happens next. It's faint at first, but the decibels are growing louder, until it's deafening and Farkle is cowering on the floor, his hands covering his ears. Stop stop stop. They're laughing at him. They're all laughing at him. His whimpers escape from the confines behind his fingers, and he silently wills himself to just. shut. up. He peeks from behind his index and middle fingers and sees no one, just the darkness; but the laughter is roaring. He sees the sun start to peep through the corner of the large stain glass window and he reaches a hand out to touch it, but then it disappears, just as quickly as it came, and he's left in the darkness, yet again; except now there's no more laughing, and it's just him. Alone... And then he wakes up, panting and sweating, sometimes crying, but no longer screaming. Because this happens every. single. time.

When Farkle was younger, and he first started having dreams, nightmares of being bullied (it's like he's perpetually in middle school), he would wake up in terror and run to the comforting arms of his parents. His mother would gather him in her arms in their bed and ruffle his hair, nuzzle his cheek, and whisper what a good boy he is. His father would rub his shoulder and then tell him a story. A story about a young peasant who was taunted by his peers and then became king. And Farkle would fall asleep in his parent's bed, a silly smile plastered on his face, and he would wake up in the morning in his own bed. Now, Farkle no longer seeks the comfort of his parent's loving embrace as solace for his torment, but instead, more often than not, descends the stairs to find his father sleeping on the couch and his mother's wedding ring on the floor. They try not to fight around him, he knows that, and a part of him appreciates it, but sometimes they just can't help it, and vases get thrown (they must have a collection of a hundred vases) and names get called as Farkle watches helplessly (yet, also indifferently; how is that possible?) as his parents detonate before his eyes. His mother will leave for days at a time and his father will buy him a new gadget (because he never really learned how to verbalize "I'm sorry"), but there are no longer words of consolation or even pats on the shoulder.

Farkle Minkus is a little too eager to learn what happened in Belgium in 1831, he wears turtlenecks a little more often than he should, and he's a little too enthusiastic when it comes to girls. But it's only because he strives to make his parents proud, his teachers, his peers; anybody. Because he is not a nothing. And he has to prove that to everyone, so he doesn't feel so. damn. small. Except, when he's around Riley. Because Riley doesn't think Farkle is a nothing. Her persistence makes him persevere; she refuses to let him succumb to the cruelty of their peers. Her humanity makes him feel invincible; she could never hurt his feelings. Despite her constant rejections to his pursuit, Farkle knows Riley loves him, and that's enough. Riley is the sunshine that pulls him through the darkness. Riley is the light at the end of his tunnel. Riley is the reason he walks with his head held high, when all he wants to do is hide forever in the janitor's closet.

Riley Matthews makes him feel extraordinary. Riley Matthews makes him feel like a king.

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Maya Hart; what a satirical name given to such a despondent little girl. Maya definitely wasn't the heart in their duo; she was the head and Riley was her heart. That's the way it always was; the way it always had to be. Because, Maya was impulsive; reckless. She had a habit of not thinking before doing things. She was brash and brazen, and only considered the consequences after the fact. And as much as she would deny it (she was never one for self-pity), she had been broken too many times, and sometimes the broken just need to be able to empty their shards into the world.

Kermit Hart was the first man (of many) to break her heart. Sometimes, when she was feeling especially dismal, she would wish she were one of the kids in her school who never knew their dad; because how can you wake up one day and decide you don't love somebody after ten years? He moved to Paris (because the United States wasn't a big enough radius to get away from her) and started a new (better) family. Katy was still there though, but not really. Maya knew she worked twelve hour shifts at the diner just to provide a better life for her, but sometimes Maya would be willing to tell her "Screw it!" if it just meant she could have more than a twenty minute interaction with her on any given night. Maya loves her mom, she really does, but she doesn't want to be her. She doesn't want to be a waitress in her thirties who's given up on her passion in order to raise a family; and it scares her that that's what she'll become. She wants to be something important. She wants to be someone important to somebody.

Maya Hart hopes that one day Joshua Matthews will be the boy who changes her; who will kiss away all her insecurities and reignite her hope (when she thinks it's gone forever because she's just so hopeless). They'll be able to laugh about the times when they were younger when Josh would say "You're too young for me, Maya" and Maya would laugh it off (even though she's dying inside) and tell him it's really not that much of an age difference. She'll be a part of the Matthews family gatherings (even though she's always invited to every single one), it will be different because she'll be a Matthews. She'll be able to finally give him the painting she made of him one night when she had slept over Riley's, and he wouldn't think it's weird. That was the night she knew she was in love with him. He had stayed over for some college thing the next morning and he had fallen asleep on the couch. The moon happened to be full and so bright that night; the light touching his face just barely, making him look beautiful. As she painted his sleeping form, she was overcome with a strong feeling of adoration for the young (slightly older) boy. But, come morning, he would wake up, and he would go back to flirting with older girls and treating her like a child. For right now though, Joshua Matthews will remain the second boy who broke her heart.

Riley Matthews has never broken Maya's heart; she's the one constant in her life; the one person she never has to worry about leaving her. She has always made Maya feel like somebody. The world has always been just the two of them, nobody else unless they allowed it. And that's the way Maya wanted it to stay. Riley gave her a family when her father had given up on her. Riley picked up her pieces when the only boy she ever really liked broke her heart. Riley gave her inspiration when she thought she lost her passion for art. Maya needs Riley in order to exist; because there is no Maya without Riley. Because without Riley, Maya will never come back.

Riley Matthews makes her feel unbroken. Riley Matthews makes her feel whole.

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They would all tell you she's their sun; she's their light when they think they've fallen into the abyss of a black hole. She's their sun, but she's feeling more and more like Pluto every day. She's Pluto because she doesn't even know just how loved she is; and she's Pluto because she doesn't want to ever be discounted. When she got home from school on the day she found out about the fate of her favorite little (former) planet, she slammed her bedroom door, slid against the frame, pulled up her knees, and cried. She cried because how could they do that to a planet with so much potential? After all this time, a group of scientists just come around and diminish her worth? Like she was nothing? Riley cried that night for Pluto. She cried because she didn't want to become Pluto.

Oh, but Riley, she has no idea just how far from being Pluto she actually is.

Riley Matthews is the sun to so many people.


End file.
